UX-related sessions at SXSW Interactive 2011

Hidden amongst the buzz and clutter of SXSW Interactive are some potentially interesting UX-related sessions. We took a few hours to distill the full session list down to this shorter one that includes sessions we think UX-minded people might care about. Not every session in this list is directly related to UX, but may be tangentially related in interesting ways. With a few exceptions, we generally did not include the hundreds of sessions about social media, social networking, social shopping, social gaming, social philanthropy, social global issues, gaining/measuring/valuing influence, distributed/network/social branding, croudsourcing, startups, the digital future of banks/farmers/nonprofits/publishers/etc., or author book signings. If you're interested in any of those sessions you'll have no trouble finding them on your own.

It was encouraging to see so many UX-related sessions on the calendar this year. It's a definite improvement over last year. There is also an impressive number of sessions on accessibility, a topic that usually gets too little attention.

The most interesting parts of SXSW are often the conversations and encounters that happen in the hallways and streets between sessions and parties. If this is your first year attending, definitely check out some of these sessions but don't forget to network ahead of time to get the most out of your time in Austin.

UX Magazine contributing editors will be in attendance at SXSWi, so if you'd like to meet up with us, send an email to sxsw2011@uxmag.com. If we missed a session that you think should be on this list, please leave a comment.

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About the Author(s)

Jonathan (@first_day) is a tech-focused jack of all trades and the editor-in-chief of UX Magazine. He is also the author of Effective UI: The Art of Building Great User Experience in Software, published by O'Reilly Media. Through its partnership with UX Magazine, Jonathan is also a senior advisor to Didus, a recruiting and career development company focused on user-centered professionals. As well, Jonathan is Managing Director, Product Strategy & Design for Dapperly, a fashion-oriented software product startup, and he is the Principal of First Day, a small private equity and consulting company. From 2005 to 2009, Jonathan helped found EffectiveUI, a leading UX strategy, design, and development agency focused on web, desktop, and mobile systems.